Protect Your Credit Card from Being Compromised by These Cons

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Credit card con-artists can be extremely crafty, something you know first hand if you've found yourself entangled in one of their scams. It's not just people on the news; many Americans find themselves scammed each year.

Below, you can find four examples of some disturbingly compelling credit card fraud.

The Jury Duty Trick

The con here uses intimidation to gain targets' personal identification information and credit card numbers. The scammer will contact their target by phone, posing as an employee of their city or county's court. They are informed by the con artist on the other end that as a result of their absence from mandatory jury duty, there has been a warrant issued for their arrest. The target, intuitively enough, responds that they never got a notice that they had jury duty.

The perpetrator on the other end will respond that they need to confirm some personal data to resolve the situation. They will proceed to request that the target provide their date of birth, street address and credit card or social security numbers.The jarring and worrisome prospect of having a warrant out for their arrest makes the target that much more likely to give up to the scammer whatever information they request, making them the victim of credit card fraud and other forms of identity theft.

Claims to Reduce the Debt from your Credit Card

This tactic uses the guise of a phone call from someone who presents themselves as an agent of the target's credit card company and offers them a dramatically low interest credit card or crazy payment structure. They insist that these changes will, in exchange for a significant initial charge, reduce what the target owes by thousands of dollars and allow them to be out of debt years earlier than previously thought. Through victimizing people who have bad credit and/or problems with debt, they ensure that they're dealing with those most tense about their situation with their credit cards and thus likely to be looking for a way to change their situation quickly.

Today, scams like these have drawn the attention of the Federal Trade Commission, causing them to ban the assessment of preliminary fees for programs to aid cardholders' outstanding debt. Along with this, companies that provide debt relief are currently obliged to keep a specific account, which belongs completely to the consumer, which is used for making payments to creditors.

Card Skimming

As James blogged previously, this form of credit card fraud is a classic con that has recently caught the attention of major media. Scammers have been able to install skimmers not only in automatic teller machines, but in-pump credit card readers in gas stations around the country. These gadgets use blue tooth technology to obtain the credit card information from unknowing consumers and then wirelessly transmit it to identity thieves to use freely. Other tactics have been used as well, such as employees at shops and eateries collecting credit card information and using it for smaller expenditures that can pass unnoticed by the cardholder.

The only way to prevent this is to make a detailed review of your bills and statements each month, and not wasting any time in making irregularities known to your credit card issuer. Prompt reporting can prevent you from having to take on liability for losses due to fraud. Also, be vigilant at the cash machine for anything that looks out of the ordinary. It's a bit of a pain, but much easier than dealing with your information being stolen by an anonymous identity thief.

The Fraud Verification Scam

This is also a rather old method to gain access to other peoples' charge card and other personal information, but still claims many victims around the country. Here, you receive a call which is presented as coming from the fraud office of the company which issues your credit card. Supplying information like your address and a claim number to make the call sound legitimate, they claim to be in the process of eliminating fraudulent purchases made with your card. In many cases, they even provide a number where you can call back with further issues. In the course of this call, the scammers request your credit card information to establish that you have the card in question.They can then turn around and use this information to fraudulently use your card.

The first thing to remember in order to not fall victim to scams like this is to remember that the company that issues your credit card is not going to contact you unexpectedly and request sensitive information. Rather, legitimate institutions first use text messages or emails to request that you call them. If you receive an email which looks like one of those just described, do not call the number provided or click through any hyperlinks the email may contain. Instead call the number for assistance printed on the back of your credit card or contact your bank through their URL.

If you have reason to believe that you've been targeted for identity theft and/or fraud, do not hesitate in contacting your card issuer to have your account frozen and obtain a new card. Beyond that, it can be to your benefit to contact credit bureaus as well to get reports on your credit frozen.

This post comes to you from the NerdWallet.com team of financial bloggers and experts in helping users to find the best rewards credit cards.